Wednesday, 28 May 2008

Commemorative service for Bosnia veterans

A commemorative service was held on May 22nd at the new Armed Forces Memorial in Staffordshire to honour and thank members of Britain's Armed Forces for their work in Bosnia Herzegovina. Over 100,000 British servicemen and women served there during a 15 year deployment which finally brought peace and security to the once divided country. Wreaths were laid by Princess Michael of Kent on behalf of the Nation and by Defence Minister Mr Selmo Cikotic on behalf of people of Bosnia Herzegovina in special tribute to over 50 soldiers who lost their lives during the deployment.

Mr Cikotic paid thanks to UK Armed Forces on behalf of his country: "I stand before you with a sense of deep humility and great pride. We are here to commemorate more than fifty sons and daughters of this country who have died fighting for a better tomorrow. They took on a grave and honourable responsibility, to be the ones to stand between the civilized world and what threatened it. They signed up, took an oath, and made a promise to defend something larger than themselves. We must never forget that. To the men and women of the British Military, you have our deepest gratitude and respect for your support, dedication and friendship. We remain indebted to those who passed away for their courage and sacrifice, and we keep them in our thoughts and prayers."

Mrs Mollie Wormald, the mother of Captain Steven Wormald of the 2nd Battalion Royal Anglian Regiment who was killed in the conflict, gave a reading in the service. She later said:"I am so very proud of my son and all of those who died helping Bosnia and Herzegovina become a safer place. The service today has paid fitting tribute to them, and also to the efforts of those who returned safely home. It gives me comfort to see my son's name engraved on this national tribute to our brave service men and women. May his reward be as great as his sacrifice".